Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, St. Catherine of Sienna Parish, brings students closer to God with Montessori principles

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

For two years, St. Catherine of Sienna Parish, Ft. Thomas, has been a home to the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, a Montessori style educational experience, where children learn about God’s love and grow in relationship with him. Using Montessori principals of a prepared environment in the “atrium,” and catechetical materials designed with child development in mind, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd gives children a unique religious experience.

Jeanne Hicks, catechist for Levels 1 and 2, brought the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to St. Catherine. “I just felt God was calling, was asking me to bring it to Northern Kentucky,” she said. Soon after, Mrs. Hicks approached Father Stephen Bankemper, pastor, St. Catherine of Sienna, who jumped at the idea. “It was from there that it really exploded,” she said.

Currently, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Catherine’s accommodates Level 1, ages 3-6, and Level 2, ages 6-9. Growing popularity in the catechetical program, however, has allowed for expanded offerings, with Level 3, ages 9-12, in the beginning stages of development. Catechist Dan Teller helping the St. Catherine of Sienna program expand into the Level 3 plane of development.

While Levels 1 and 2 focus on “enjoyment and growing in love, and growing in relationship and being open to the mystery of who is Jesus and what is the kingdom,” said Mr. Teller, Level 3 moves beyond relationship into understanding and reason.

“Six- to twelve-year-olds have entered the age of reason … so we start to introduce the history of the kingdom of God, we embed a strong emphasis on ‘How am I part of this history? How do I continue to the unfolding of the Kingdom of God; what is my particular role?’”

In addition, Level 3 begins the process of “explicit moral formation,” said Mr. Teller. “How are we supposed to live well in the Kingdom of God? What are the rails, what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong.”

Catechesis at every age, however, “rests on the spiritual characteristic of a child at each particular age.” With younger students utilizing “catechetical materials,” in the atrium, a prepared environment where children can interact with different areas, each focusing on a facet of religion.

“There’s an area for baptism, there’s an area that emphasizes the altar and Eucharist, there’s an area that emphasizes the geography and incarnation of Christ, there’s an area that emphasizes the Paschal Mystery, the parables of the Kingdom of God … and it’s prepared in a very beautiful way.”

Once the Catechist of the atrium shows the children how to properly interact with the catechetical materials and areas, children are free to independently work with them. This might manifest in children drawing, acting or writing a prayer about parables of the Bible, like the Good Samaritan or Prodigal son.

“It’s through really immersing themselves and the children thinking about these things over and over again and just wondering, what is Jesus saying to them through these moments. I think I see a huge impact with that,” said Mrs. Hicks.

“Children do develop a personal relationship with Jesus and with the life of the Church, and it happens because they have a real, vivid, active experience in the environment that’s called the atrium,” said Mr. Teller. “Children all respond to their own unique way to the life of the atrium and to the content, but they’re responding interiorly to the beauty, to the mystery, and to the truth of Jesus and the Church.”

The atrium is more than a place where children come and experience God’s love for them, it is a testament to the St. Catherine Parish community. “Our own parish has come together,” said Mrs. Hicks. “Everything is handmade in the atrium. Parishioners have made bookshelves, they’ve sewed the prayer cloth, they have handwritten calligraphy all kinds of Scripture verses for the children to just think about and to copy. Thy have made all the little handmade items we have in there.”

The success of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Catherine, began two years ago when Mrs. Hicks answered a calling. Since then, through God’s divine providence, the program has excelled, with more than 70 students currently enrolled in the program. “It’s really beautiful,” said Mrs. Hicks. “Jesus really does speak to their hearts and through their works.”

Currently looking to train more catechists as the program expands — Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is hosting trainings at St. Catherine Parish this upcoming summer with more information available on their website at https://www.stcky.org/cgs1formation.